Princeton Eyes Revamped Policy on Campus Sexual Assault

Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- A Princeton University committee has
proposed policy changes for responding to sexual assaults on
campus, following Harvard University and Dartmouth College,
which have issued new directives.

Under the revamp, Princeton would use trained investigators
to look into alleged assaults and would change the standard of
evidence used for finding students responsible for attacks,
according to a statement today.

Colleges across the U.S. are closely examining their
policies and procedures for preventing, investigating and
reporting sexual assaults as students have filed complaints
against their schools for improper responses. Princeton, Harvard
and Dartmouth are among dozens of schools under investigation by
the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for
alleged violations of Title IX, which bars gender discrimination
in education.

“In conversations over the summer with OCR about its
pending review of Princeton’s practices in these areas, it
became clear that we needed to modify our sexual-misconduct
policies and procedures to become fully compliant with current
Title IX requirements,” Princeton President Christopher
Eisgruber said in the statement.

OCR began investigating Princeton in 2010 after Wendy
Murphy, an adjunct professor at New England School of Law in
Boston who specializes in violence issues, filed a complaint
against the school in Princeton, New Jersey. Murphy also filed a
complaint against Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard Law
School the same year.

Federal Investigation

“It’s not a good sign that Princeton officials claim they
only realized ‘this summer’ that they had major policy problems
considering that Princeton has been under federal investigation
on this issue for almost four years,” Murphy said in an e-mail.

In 2011, the Education Department issued guidance for
colleges -- known as the “Dear Colleague Letter” -- regarding
sexual assault. The school has made “adjustments” to its
policy since then, according to a memo to faculty today from the
university’s Faculty Advisory Committee, which issued the draft
policies.

Michael Caddell, a Princeton spokesman, declined to comment
further.

Since 1995, the Education Department has said that campus
sexual-assault investigations should be decided by a
“preponderance of evidence” standard, which means that the
charges are more likely than not to be true. Under the draft,
Princeton would move to a preponderance standard from the one in
current use, “clear and persuasive” evidence.

Evidence Standard

Murphy said she raised the issue of the evidence standard
in her complaint and was pleased to see the proposed change.

“The preponderance standard ensures that the word of a
woman will be accorded the same weight and value as the word of
any other student reporting or responding to allegations that a
student’s civil rights were violated,” she said.

Princeton also will form a Committee on Sexual Misconduct
composed of faculty and students that will help ensure that
students know their rights under federal rules and university
policy, according to the statement. Deborah Nord, an English
professor, and Michele Minter, vice provost for institutional
equity and diversity, will serve as co-chairs.

The draft plan will be presented to the faculty on Sept. 15
and, if approved, will move up to the Council of the Princeton
University Community.